Geeks and Beer - I admit it's not always the best combination! But, if you live in the DFW area - try and make it to the next Geek Gathering at Gameworks in Grapevine starting at 7pm. Free Beer you read? Well, not unlimited free drinks, but Cory has graciously offered to buy your first drink only if you RSVP at his blog. My wife and kids will be out of town so I'm not missing this opportunity to "geek it out" for the night!
I've only been to one of the first 3 Geek Gatherings, but here is what I can tell you so far:
- I kick Ass at Air Hockey! Well, the sample size was kinda small - only like 4 other competitors, but I am pretty good. The only game I "lost" was to Cory, I was down by 1 goal to him, but our Air Hockey skills are so superb that we managed to lose one of the pucks when it flew off the game. All of us spent several minutes looking for that damn puck to no avail. I am a competitor, ok, I HATE to lose, but I had to finally concede the game to Cory when we gave up the search for the missing puck. Besides, the best I could do was tie the game, so I'll be a good sport about it this time :p My apologies to those of you who got smashed fingers and stopped flying pucks with their bodies!
- I Kick Ass at the full-sized, VR, networked F1 Driving Game! We only played this one time as a group. I was in the lead at the beginning and then an unfortunate crash put me back in the pack. The best part was literally overtaking Cory at the finish line with only a second to go - he never knew what hit him!
- Don't be dumb like me! When you load up your Gameworks playing card - don't purchase a pre-defined $ amount. As it usually goes, it wasn't until immediately after I purchased $15 on my card did I notice you could purchase an hour or two hours of unlimited game playing - Doh!
- Video Games can make you sick! Cory and I closed down Gameworks playing this futuristic driving game. Basically, you lay down on your back and the screen is above you. You drive your vehicle at ridiculous speeds in a 3D Tunnel (reminds me of the way old game, Tempest) while attempting to drive over speed boosts and avoiding obstacles on the course. The way the game relays the feeling of speed is to have the tunnel move towards you super fast while your vehicle basically remains stationary, except for it's ability to drive on any plane of the tunnel (upside down, rightside up, etc...)To add to the effect, the entire seat shakes and vibrates. Well, after 2 games of this I felt like barfing - that same feeling you get after stuffing yourself with buttery popcorn and soda at the movie theater. It wasn't until I was half-way home, with all my windows down, that I was feeling better. Regardless, I can't wait to play that game again!
- The car I drove home is NOT a video game car! I've had this same effect happen to me after playing a round of golf. I drive around for 4 hours in the golf cart and when I get in my real car to drive home I drive it like I'm in a race. Well, multiply that 10 fold after playing VR F1 racing games and that futuristic racing game!! Owning a sports car, liking to drive fast, and playing video games makes me thing I'm Mario Andretti. It didn't help that it was dark and the roads were deserted!
To sum it up, you'll want to attend the geek gathering to: make me look like a fool with my Air Hockey and F1 VR claims, free beer, and geeky camaraderie ship!